MACT
The Chrysalis
Written by Miguel Fiol
Directed by Joe Moses
The Chrysalis (a play in English) is a family drama set in 1990s Puerto Rico during the tumultuous AIDS epidemic. American pharmaceutical companies on the island were reaping tax-free profits by making life-saving AIDS medications that most Boricuas (Puerto Rican natives) could not afford. The father (Eduardo) has to weigh the advantages of working for the Americans against the costs to his family after Raul’s friend faces exile, conversion therapy, and fatal illness and everyone in the family has to face difficult questions at the very heart of their identities.
The youngest son, Raul, reveals plans to come out to his family on his 21st birthday until his late grandparents, both former activists for Puerto Rican independence, intervene.
The story traces family conflicts to Spanish colonialism, the enslavement of Ghanaians, religious influences, and American political and economic (sugar cane) power. The family struggles to understand what it means to stand up for who they are as Puerto Ricans until Raul’s brother Francisco risks everything to protect the family (the chrysalis) from a home-grown menace.
Licensed by the author.
Directed by Joe Moses
The Chrysalis (a play in English) is a family drama set in 1990s Puerto Rico during the tumultuous AIDS epidemic. American pharmaceutical companies on the island were reaping tax-free profits by making life-saving AIDS medications that most Boricuas (Puerto Rican natives) could not afford. The father (Eduardo) has to weigh the advantages of working for the Americans against the costs to his family after Raul’s friend faces exile, conversion therapy, and fatal illness and everyone in the family has to face difficult questions at the very heart of their identities.
The youngest son, Raul, reveals plans to come out to his family on his 21st birthday until his late grandparents, both former activists for Puerto Rican independence, intervene.
The story traces family conflicts to Spanish colonialism, the enslavement of Ghanaians, religious influences, and American political and economic (sugar cane) power. The family struggles to understand what it means to stand up for who they are as Puerto Ricans until Raul’s brother Francisco risks everything to protect the family (the chrysalis) from a home-grown menace.
Licensed by the author.
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